1135. ANNUAL GENERAL ADJUSTMENT ORDER FOR 2013

(A) In accordance with Section 11 of the Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance as amended and Board Regulation 1100, the Rent Stabilization Board hereby adjusts the Year 2012 Rent Ceilings (exclusive of temporary increases in rent ceilings such as capital improvements) upward by 1.7% for all rental units covered by the Ordinance, except those rental units for which an Initial Rent was established pursuant to the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act on or after January 1, 2012.

The Year 2012 Rent Ceiling is defined as the Base Rent Ceiling established in Section 10 of the Ordinance or, for units where an Initial Rent was established between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2011, the last Initial Rent established pursuant to the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, plus any adjustment of the Base Rent Ceiling granted by the Board.

(B) The adjustment granted by this Order shall become effective on January 1, 2013, provided the landlord is otherwise entitled to the adjustment pursuant to the provisions of the Ordinance and this Order. The rent ceiling adjustment granted herein shall not apply to the rent ceiling of any rental unit for which an Initial Rent was established pursuant to the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act on or after January 1, 2012.

(C) Rent Ceilings adjusted pursuant to this Order may not be rounded to the nearest dollar amount.

(D) The upward general adjustment granted in this Order does not automatically provide for a rent increase. Rent increases pursuant to this Order shall become effective only after the landlord gives the tenant(s) at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of such rent increase and the notice period expires.

Each notice to a tenant of a rent increase pursuant to this Order shall be in the following form and contain the following information:

Thirty-Day Notice of Rent Increase

This notice is provided pursuant to the 2013 Annual General Adjustment (AGA) Order of the Rent Stabilization Board.

Tenant's name:__________________________________

Street address: Unit No._________

The present rent on your unit is $ per month.

[The 2013 AGA Order adjusts 2012 rent ceilings by 1.7%]

Your rent will increase by $_____ pursuant to the 2013 AGA Order.

Your new rent will be $ per month beginning . (This date must be at least 30 days after service of the Notice of Rent Increase.)

Advice concerning this Notice and the rental history of the unit is available from the Rent Stabilization Board Public Information Unit, 2125 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 12:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, telephone (510) 981-7368.

_______________________________ Date Landlord/Manager

(E) Landlords are not required under the Ordinance and/or this Order to increase rents at all or by the full amount of the general adjustment granted in this Order.

(F) If the maximum allowable rent specified under the Ordinance for a rental unit is greater than the rent specified for such unit in the rental agreement, the lower rent specified in the rental agreement shall be the maximum allowable rent until the rental agreement expires. If the maximum allowable rent specified under the ordinance for a rental unit is less than the rent specified for such unit in the rental agreement, the lower rent specified under this chapter shall be the maximum allowable rent.

(G) No rent increase pursuant to this Order shall be effective if the landlord:

(1) Has failed to register any rental unit on the property in accordance with Section 8 of the Ordinance and/or orders or regulations of the Board, including the requirement to file a vacancy registration form at the beginning of a new tenancy commencing on or after January 1, 1996; or

(2) Demands, accepts, receives or retains any payment in excess of the maximum allowable rent for the unit permitted by the Ordinance; or

(3) Has failed to comply, after order of the Board, with any provisions of the Ordinance and/or orders or regulations of the Board concerning the affected rental unit; or

(4) Has failed to bring the rental unit into compliance with the implied warranty of habitability. Such compliance means the unit substantially complies with the City of Berkeley's building, housing and health codes which materially affect the health and safety of tenant(s); or

(5) Has failed to make repairs as ordered by the housing inspection services of the City of Berkeley.

(H) The amount of this general adjustment for which the landlord shall be eligible shall decrease by ten percent (10%) per month for each month beyond October 1, 2012, for which the landlord fails to register. A landlord who is ineligible to raise rents under this general adjustment due to a violation of one or more of the conditions of subsection (G) shall be able to raise rents under this adjustment in future years upon correction of the condition and substantial compliance with the Ordinance in accordance with Civil Code section 1947.7.